pan and scan

[ panuhn skan ]

/ ˈpæn ən ˈskæn /

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noun Television.

a technique for changing the aspect ratio of a wide-screen film, usually by selecting the significant section of each film frame and cropping the sides, so that it can be transmitted in 4:3 aspect ratio.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

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Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

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Compare letterbox (def. 2).

Origin of pan and scan

First recorded in 1980–85; see pan³, scan (def. 6)

OTHER WORDS FROM pan and scan

pan-and-scan, adjective

Words nearby pan and scan

Pan-American Highway, Pan-Americanism, Pan American Union, panamiga, Panamint Mountains, pan and scan, pan and tilt head, panangiitis, Pan-Arabism, panarthritis, Pan-Asian

How to use pan and scan in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
While the beans are cooling and drying, melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Remove the roast from the pan and let rest for a minimum of 15 minutes.
Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries|Carla Hall|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Mr. Spurrell came down to see a horse, and we shall be very glad to have the benefit of his opinion by-and-by.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
They were eaten too quickly, in long gulps of four-and-twenty hours at a time.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
He watched the man put some bread and milk in a tin pan, and set it down on the floor of the basket.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum